72 lakh teachers trained to use technology to identify students with disabilities

In a nationwide outreach covering up to 60,000 schools and 72 lakh teachers, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has trained teachers to identify children with probable disability conditions using PRASHAST, a school-based screening tool.“Department of School Education has been conducting continuous sensitisation of general teachers on inclusive education through PRASHAST for the past three months,” a senior Ministry official said.PRASHAST is a digital tool to help identify children with 21 disability conditions listed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. “Many of these conditions are not easily identifiable, especially those without visible symptoms, as schools often lack systematic tools to identify such needs early,” the official added.Checklists for teachers, special educatorsThe tool’s two-part checklist enables teachers to screen students based on observable indicators, while special educators validate cases and facilitate referrals for medical assessment, wherever required.The first part of the checklist is for regular teachers to screen students on observable behaviours such as movement, vision, hearing, speech, learning, behaviour, and social interaction, among others. For instance, teachers must observe if a student has difficulty in moving, or experiences numbness in limbs, slurred speech, a shorter height than is usual for their age, is an acid attack survivor, or holds a book too close or too far while reading. Other parameters include students facing difficulties in reading, misplacing a line, or omitting words, avoidance in engaging in activities requiring visual focus like reading or copying from blackboard, stammering, writing reverse letters, or unexplained and excessive bleeding from injuries.The second part of the tool is for special educators to help determine suspected disability categories to validate, categorise, and prepare referrals for official assessment camps. For instance, detecting locomotor disabilities involving bones, joints or muscles, deformities caused by leprosy, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, speech and language disability, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, haemophilia, and thalassemia, among others.Early detection and support“The benefits of this tool entail early detection of hidden disabilities like specific learning disability or autism, preventing mislabeling, supporting RTE Act 2009-based inclusive education, and most importantly, leveraging a teacher’s daily observation without medical expertise,” the official added. Findings obtained from PRASHAST will be linked with an application for a disability certificate and the Unique Disability ID (UDID card) used to enrol in schemes, and obtain concessions and examination accommodations. The data will also feed into Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s PM DAKSH scheme which offers free skill training, upskilling and placement support for persons with disabilities as well as the National Scholarship Portal for Central and State scholarships for students with disabilities. Aiding inclusive educationAccording to a plan charted out by the Education Ministry, schools must complete required teacher trainings between July and September, before starting the screening exercise. By the end of October, intervention camps will be arranged for necessary treatment, and by the end of December, final outcomes will be evaluated based on student progress and interventions. “The module uses practical examples and interactive activities to help school personnel adopt appropriate and respectful practices. It is available in 12 Indian languages and is intended for heads of schools, teachers, special educators, and non-teaching staff, including ayahs, drivers, clerical staff, receptionists, deans, and wardens, as every interaction a child has at school — from the classroom and office to transport and other common spaces — contributes to their experience of inclusion,” the official said.